Changing needs

First, I think most people would agree with me if I said that products need to address the needs of the customers in order to be successful (bearing in mind that the needs can be expressed or latent). Second, this is a lot easier said than done. Now, let's start the blog...

Six months ago I started a new chapter. I became a parent, and as such, found myself in a new market segment, a new customer profile had been added to my identity. Suddenly it was not only about buying products for myself and my own needs, it was about someone else, and how could I, as a parent, not choose the best, the most safe, the most fun for the little darling (tld) that I had introduced to the world? Luckily for my wallet, I had an inner voice telling me that despite what the advertisements told me, tld did not really need that much, and with an exponential growth most things would be useless after a couple of months. Luckily 2, I had bunch of great friends giving and lending us stuff.

But, there were a few things I needed to get and the search started. A cot. I have always liked good design, and in this I include both form and function (c.f. Does It Work in Melbourne "truly good design is good from both perspectives"). Since I do not yet have the possibility to discuss design with tld, it was mostly my own and to a certain extent S's 'need' that guided me.

It was its form that first caught my eye. Strangely enough it turned out to be made in Scandinavia or admittedly Norway. There was nothing else like it; it had nothing of the clumsiness and heaviness of the other beds I had seen. And I fell in love with it.

I do realise that for tld, it doesn't really matter what the cot looks like. As long as it will fit him and is secure and stable, he will be fine. From a form perspective, it was really only my own need that the cot addressed. Function wise however, the cot actually had something else to offer, not only does it fit tld, it will address his and ours changing needs - his exponential growth and grow with him, and potentially we can use it until he has about 7 or even more years of age. It is not only a cot, it is a bed. And can easily turn into two chairs or a couch. I thought it was great, what an excellent innovation.

Another example, with less build up. My husband and I like food, the meal times are important and we like to sit at the table and eat. For us, it is natural that tld should sit with us, at least now when he has started sitting up.

Hadn't really noticed before, but there are an awful lot of horrible looking and hard to clean high chairs out there. What do you think about this one?

As you might have guessed, I like it, the form is great, and what about function? Well tld will be able to use it for years to come; and when tld grows tired of it we can start using it ourselves.

So how did it end... unfortunately, there was no way that, even with this great form and function, I could justify the price and buy them in NZ. Turned out that even trade me was more expensive than first hand price in Europe. Luckily, we had a trip planned to Europe.